Dixon, Honda Lead Friday Practice at Watkins Glen

9/1/2017 8:56:00 PM

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal led the way for Honda Friday in Verizon IndyCar Series practice for Sunday's INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen, at the historic Watkins Glen International Raceway. Dixon and Rahal finished the day first and third, respectively, after a pair of 45-minute sessions.

A four-time winner at Watkins Glen, Dixon is in the thick of the drivers' championship with just two races remaining in 2017. Dixon currently lies second, with 516 points to 547 for current leader Josef Newgarden. Dixon also holds the current Watkins Glen lap record of 1:22.5259 [147.008 mph] set in qualifying for last year's race.

Rahal, already a two-time winner this season, having swept both rounds of the double header race weekend in Detroit, ran third fastest in the second of the two practice sessions. Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five for Honda, with Charlie Kimball, seventh; Ryan Hunter-Reay, eighth; Takuma Sato, ninth and Max Chilton rounding out the top 10.

Activities at Watkins Glen continue tomorrow, with final practice and qualifying. Coverage of Sunday's 60-lap event starts at 1 p.m. EDT, live on the NBC Sports Network.

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "The NTT DATA car was really fast out there. We still have a little bit of work to do, but the team brought some really good race cars to Watkins Glen this weekend. The entire Chip Ganassi team is very strong here. These high-speed road courses like Mid-Ohio are where we seem to excel. I think this place really suits my driving style and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's qualifying."